When a tennis player uses a conventional tennis racket to strike a tennis ball, various results may occur depending on the four different areas on the racket face upon which the tennis ball is struck. A tennis racket face is a bed of tightly woven strings within the frame of the racket, upon which is used to strike a tennis ball.
The first area of a conventional tennis racket face is conventionally referred to as the “dead spot” area, which is generally located towards the tip of the racket, away from the handle of the racket. The dead spot on the tennis racket may typically be used by a tennis player during a serve (a serve is the start of a point in a tennis match where a player tosses a tennis ball into the air and hits the ball with the racket, usually at the highest point of the toss), as the maximum energy of the rotation of the swing is transferred to the tennis ball. Since the tip of the racket is moving faster than the rest of the racket, hitting the ball in the dead spot may result in an increased pace on a tennis serve, and thus many tennis players with strong serves may intentionally make contact in the dead spot when they are serving the ball.
The second, third, and fourth areas of the tennis racket are commonly referred to as “sweet spots,” which produce the best combination of feel and power. The three sweet spots of the tennis racket are conventionally referred to as the Node of the First Harmonic area (“the Node area”), the Center of Percussion (“CoP”), and the “Power Zone” or “the zone of best bounce,” respectively.
The second area of a conventional tennis racket face, or the Node of the First Harmonic area (“the Node area”), is generally located below the dead spot, toward the handle of the racket, which is the point on the string bed that produces the least amount of uncomfortable vibration on impact with the ball. Hitting the ball in the Node area may result in little vibration on groundstrokes (a groundstroke is a shot in tennis which is executed by hitting a tennis ball with the tennis racket after the ball bounces once on the court), but may offer less power than other areas of the racket face.
The third area of a conventional tennis racket face, the Center of Percussion (“CoP”), is generally located below the center of the conventional racket face, below the Node (toward the handle of the racket), is the area where the tennis ball will produce minimal initial shock to the tennis player's hand. Hitting the tennis ball in the CoP area may produce the most equalized and the most straight ball response from the racket. The CoP may provide the best control or “feel” on groundstrokes, and also may provide the most stability and balance on a tennis stroke.
The fourth area of a conventional tennis racket face, the “Power Zone” or “zone of best bounce” is located just below the CoP, toward the handle of the racket. This is the area or zone with the greatest coefficient of restitution. The coefficient of restitution is the ratio of the incident speed of the tennis ball to the rebound speed of the tennis ball. The zone of best bounce affords the greatest transfer of power from the racket to the tennis ball. A tennis ball that is struck in the zone of best bounce may result in significant vibration on the racket, which thereby may give the tennis player less control on the racket. Tennis players who are adept at controlling their groundstrokes may intentionally hit the ball in the zone of best bounce.
The different results which occur when a tennis ball is struck by the different areas of a conventional tennis racket have been known to frustrate countless numbers of players, including beginners, advanced amateurs, and even professionals. Players may even reach the point of sometimes smashing their rackets in frustration when, although they have practiced diligently, they do not consistently get the same results for each time they strike the tennis ball with the conventional racket.
Several attempts have been made to increase and enlarge the different sweet spots in a tennis racket, including attempts to develop a tennis racket having a primarily rectangular shape. Other ideas include flattening the sides of the conventional oval racket such that the sides of the frame of the tennis racket are formed as straight sections. However, it may not be desirable to straighten the sides of the conventional racket because the oval shape may be a more aerodynamic shape for swinging as compared to a rectangle or non-oval shape racket. Furthermore, many tennis players prefer the overall feel and balance of the conventional oval shape racket over the rectangular or non-oval shape racket.
Another problem that is experienced by many tennis players is the need to pick up tennis balls from the ground. Currently, there is no practical or convenient way to assist a player to deal with the repetitive and hip and back bending motion needed to retrieve and lift the numerous types of tennis balls, in any condition, (e.g., new, used, damp, dry, clean, dirty, etc.) from the ground while learning or playing the game of tennis without the need for the player to bend over. Several attempts have been made to address this problem, including attaching a hooked fastening material (e.g., Velcro™) to the outer edge of the conventional tennis racket. However, this method requires that the tennis ball has a sufficient amount of fabric on the outer sphere in order for the hooked fastening material to grasp the ball. Often players may play with used or worn tennis balls that make it difficult to retrieve in this fashion, which may render the hooked fastening material less effective in retrieving the ball. Furthermore, the hooked fastening material may have difficulty retrieving a damp or wet tennis ball due to the additional weight of the moisture on the ball. Addressing this issue is extremely important, especially when a player's age, physical condition, or skill set (e.g., older tennis players, players who may be wheelchair bound, or tennis players with hip or back problems) does not include the ability to tap the ball repeatedly with the racket face and, “bounce” the ball to hand level or “cradle” the ball between the foot and racket head, while simultaneously lifting the foot and racket, (while still cradling the ball), and lifting the ball to hand level.
Therefore, a need exists in the art for a tennis racket that is capable of solving the problems of the conventional tennis racket as described above.